Messanger
by silverwolvesarecool
Summary: He knew he should have done more, he could have saved more lives. But he knows he can prevent this from ever happening; simply by delivering a message to an old friend.
**I saw Batman V Superman and freaked when Barry/The Flash made his cameo. I just had write something about it. Enjoy!**

 **A/N Do not read if you have not seen the movie yet; I might spoil some things. Also this is quite dark...even for me.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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The world was in ruin. The air was no longer clean and water was scarce. Animals both and domestic and wild had died out years before hand. Crime was at an all time high and people crouched in their dilapidated houses full of fear. A few managed to fortify their homes with barbed wire and makeshift landmines. Children never played outside anymore and forgot what it was like to laugh.

The bay stretching between Gotham and Metropolis had evaporated; an Omega Symbol was scorched into the dry earth. Darkseid had made sure that his domance over the world was branded in between the two greatest cities known world wide just so he could show that even _he_ could corrupt one of the heroes: Superman.

A red blur raced across the barren landscape sending up clouds of dust in its wake. Its speed was startling, it cleared the distance between the bay within a matter of seconds. For a moment it slowed down as it neared the entrance to Metropolis, as if hesitating, before picking up its pace. It headed for a bunker that had sprung up in the middle of the city's square. Guards wearing gas masks and Stahlhelm M1935 styled helmets patrolled it. They had a faded but familiar symbol stitched into their shoulder pads. The symbol once stood for truth but now it stood for fear; Superman's symbol

For a moment the guards stood upright and awake. But in the next second all were on the ground groaning in pain, many of which were unconscious completely. A stockpile of confiscated weapons lay in the corner with empty rounds scattered all over the ground. The bullets had vanished from them even though not a shot had been fired.

The blur came to a stop in front of the bunker and solidified into a man wearing a red costume. The costume appeared to be made of metal that was dented and scratched. A white logo with a lighting bolt blazing across it gleamed in the middle of his chest. The man's face was almost entirely covered by his mask; only his eyes and part of his mouth showed. His face was that of a young man of his late twenties but his eyes were those of a man in his fifties. They showed the look of a man who had seen untold horrors which only returned in clarity at his waking hour.

He breathed heavily for a moment before slowly climbing down the ladder that went deep into the ground. His foot glanced off one of the steel rungs and he almost lost his footing. However he lashed his free hand out and grabbed one the rungs above him. He glanced down to see how much farther he had to go before continuing his journey.

The man landed with a muffled thump at the bottom of the bunker which was coated in dirt. He peered nervously into the gloom but appeared to relax when he noticed that he was alone. He moved forwards and froze, like a fox listening for danger. There was smell of something in the air of the room that made him grimace. The smell smelled sweet but in a sickening way. He realized it was the smell of burned flesh.

He bit his lip for a moment to prevent it from curling up in disgust. He spotted piles of ash below shackles hanging from the ceiling. It didn't take a scientist to figure out that they were the cremated remains of humans who rebelled against Superman's domain. No doubt they were alive before they were burned.

The direction of a draft changed for a moment bring the coppery smell of blood. The man turned and spotted the slumped form of his friend. Bruce's mask lay on the ground in front of him. He wasn't moving and didn't even lift his head when the masked man called out a friendly hello. The man took a step forward and flinched away from his friend unable to take in the horror of what he saw. A gapping hole was in the middle of Bruce's chest. His heart had been ripped out.

"My God," the man muttered quietly.

The line between cursing and praying had been blurred in outcome of the apocalyptic battle. The man staggered back from back his friend and immediately vomited onto the dusty ground. His face felt wet and when he touched it, his hands came back soaked with tears. His hands shook slightly from the horror of what he had seen. He looked mutely at them as if they belonged to a different person. The man wished for the trembling to disperse and it did. Only then did he straighten up.

He walked up to his friend and stood gazing up at him. For a moment the man heard nothing but his own heart throbbing rapidly in his chest. Then a flash of pure rage coursed through his veins and he held his right arm up. It started vibrating rapidly until it was nothing more than a blur. Angrily, he grabbed onto the chains suspending Bruce from the ceiling. After a few moments they snapped, the ends glowing white hot; having been heated past their melting point.

The man eased his friend's broken body to the ground as gently as he would have done to a sleeping child. He used two fingers to shut his Bruce's dull eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. For a moment, the masked man bowed his head and closed his eyes. He remained quiet for several seconds remembering his friend's last words to him weeks before.

" _Look...if I don't come back. You need to warn us earlier._ "

" _You are talking crazy talk!"_ the man remembered himself replying, _"Of course you are coming back! You are the only one who has ever gone up against him and made it back in one piece. Remember what happened to Aquaman?"_

 _"Promise me..._ " Bruce had asked him looking at him straight in the face," _Promise me that you will make sure none of this will ever happen if I don't come back_."

" _Alright. I promise. Just promise me that you will make it back_."

His friend had not replied but instead had walked off into the shadow.

"You crazy son of a bitch..." the man muttered looking up, "You knew you weren't coming back didn't you?"

He heard no reply in return but the howling of the wind blowing through the corridor.

" _Bah. You are losing it,"_ the man thought to himself," _You're talking to a dead man_."

He stood up and picked up his friend's limp body. It had seemed to heavier than any other thing he had ever carried in his life. Or maybe it was his heart sinking. The man turned and immediately was face to face with another man. This man was wearing a green uniform and was floating several feet above the ground. He pointed a glowing ring so that it illuminated the other man's face.

"Barry?" he asked lowering the ring slightly, "What the hell are you doing here? You know Superman said that this place was off limits even for us."

The masked man glared venomously at his confronter and made no reply. Then he spoke.

"What else am I suppose to do, Hal?" he responded in a low voice that hid anger behind every syllable, "Leave his body here to rot?"

Hal arched an eyebrow behind his domino mask, "You do realize he does work with the rebellion? He's suppose to be an example to them. Do you realize how cowardly this is? Superman will have your head."

His tone was bored and he said it as calmly as if he had been talking about the weather.

"How is ripping someone's heart out of his chest an example Hal?" Barry snapped before laughing in disbelief and mockery, "I thought you Green Lanterns were suppose to prevent evil. But no...you decided to work with the evil who is responsible for all of this—" he gestured around him with his free hand, "—because you are nothing but a coward. And you call me one?"

The other man turned his head and lowered it away for a moment in shame. When he spoke his voice was hard with anger.

"You know I am suppose to stop you from leaving."

He lifted and tightened his hand into a fist. The ring on it glowed with a brighter shade of green.

"Try..." Barry arched his lip up in a slight sneer, "And you'll never know what hit you."

They stood apart from each other much like participants in an Old West duel. Neither were sure when they were going to draw their weapon but one eventually would have to draw. The only sound that was heard in the tight corridor was their breathing. Then Hal lowered his hand and the light from his ring faded.

"You have three seconds to get out before I change my mind..." he threatened.

He moved off to the side to allow the other man room to pass.

"What are you going to tell him?" Barry asked quietly.

Hal thought for a moment, "I will tell him that the body was disposed of in the way he asked it to be. In fact that was what I was coming to do when I bumped into you."

The other man nodded and brushed past him; carrying Bruce's limp body tenderly in his arms. Before he reached the stepladder he turned.

"And also delver this message to him," he said, "Tell him I am no longer going to work for him. I will not have any more blood on my hands even if I am not the one spilling it."

Hal had a flicker of a smile appear on his face, "That's the difference between you and me Flash. I'll die a sinner and you'll die a saint*. You have more morality than any other member of our team would ever have."

Barry turned away and smiled slightly, "Haven't heard that name in years. Thanks Hal."

He sped off before his former friend could reply.

~~~...~~~

"Do you realize the effects of the outcome will be if you do this?" Cyborg demanded as he watched Barry pace back and forth Bruce's abandoned hide-out, "This entire timeline could be wiped out! You yourself said so...time traveling is dangerous!"

Barry stopped and slammed the palms of his hand on the table in front of him making the other man jump. He was slow to anger but when he got angry it was scary.

"What choice do we have Vic?!" he snapped.

He straightened up and started pacing again, "Bruce said so himself. He said if he wasn't coming back from this mission that I would have to do this."

"But you said—" Vic started to say.

"I know what I said," Barry interrupted.

He closed his eyes for a moment and let the rage inside him die down. Opening them, he noticed that his hands were shaking again. From fear or from anger he had no clue.

"How long will the armor last?" he asked tightening his hands into fists and dropping them at his side.

"Barry—"

"How long?"

Vic swallowed and his left eye—the robot one—flickered slightly, "Maybe a couple seconds or half a minute. If you remain too long in the past you could—"

"I know..." Barry said softly, "I know."

He turned away from his friend and rested his hands on the table; gently this time. He stared at several faded and yellowed newspaper clippings stapled to the wall in front of him. The articles long forgotten by many told the story of how the world used to be when 'angels' walked among mortals and how they protected them from harm. But the story of the Justice League was nothing but a fairy tale in these times; since her death.

"The only way this could be prevented from happening if I go back and warn us..." he said looking down at the table, " Even a few seconds would do."

"But who will you tell?" Vic asked coming up behind his friend and resting his hand on his shoulder, "No offense but I'm pretty sure the past version of Wonder Woman would be too happy to punch an intruder into the wall."

Barry flickered a slight grin, "I remember. It took forever to patch that hole in the ceiling."

His face then darkened, "I'll have to talk to Bruce. He would listen to me and actually understand what I am saying."

He straightened up and Vic backed away from him.

"Give me the armor..." Barry asked, "I need to do this now."

Vic opened his mouth to protest so his friend repeated his request.

"Please Vic. Please give it to me."

Cyborg shut his mouth and walked over to the work table where he had been designing a special suit of armor with Bruce until the latter's disappearance. It was in several pieces and was made of a sleek metal that gleamed from the dim overhead light. He lifted them up and placed the correct pieces into place on his friend's shoulders. It took several minutes but eventually he managed to snap the last piece into the place. The result was an extra layer of metal covering Barry's neck and part of his head. More armor covered his shoulder and stretched down his arms, ending at his wrists. The armor encased a majority of his torso and ended at his knee caps; only his chest showed though the armor to expose the logo.

Barry moved slightly and heard the armor click. He frowned slightly before getting his emotions under control. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. He knew he might not be coming back from this.

"It won't win any beauty prizes..." Vic admitted taking a step back, "But it should protect you from disappearing completely.

"Thanks..." the other man replied giving his friend a curt nod, "I'm ready."

Barry stepped several feet away from his friend and started running in place. He closed his eyes and pictured the moment he had to appear, the time he had to appear. Whitish yellow lighting flickered around him as he moved faster and faster until it appeared he was made of pure energy. He started feeling time slip back, he felt it slip back. Pain danced behind his eyes and a chunk of armor vaporized off his side. But he kept running, running.

He opened his eyes and found himself still in the Bruce's hideout except this time it wasn't abandoned. The Batmoblie was parked in the corner and the mega-computer was running. Barry spotted Bruce sprawled out in a rolling chair out cold and fast asleep. He looked as if he were in the middle of a nightmare, his face was white and he was shivering slightly.

Barry reached out and touched him gently on the shoulder, waking him. Bruce startled from his sleep stared right into his eyes dazed and confused, with a small amount of fear.

"Bruce. Listen to me right now!" Barry yelled at him to be heard over the crackling of energy around him," Its Lois. Lois Lane.—" chunks of armor blew off him; he didn't have much time left to relay the message,"—She is the key!"

He waited a few milliseconds to see if his friend got it. But his heart sunk with fear when he realized he noticed no recognition in Bruce's eyes but only fear. He also noticed that there weren't as many lines carved in his friend's face. This version of Bruce Wayne was too young.

"Am I too soon?" Barry asked mostly to himself though out loud.

A shock of pain radiated down his body as more armor shattered off and he screamed, "Ah!"—before continuing normally,"I am too soon."

Barry stretched his arm out—Bruce shielded away from him slightly—and used the rest of his strength to relay the remainder of his message, "You were right about him. You were always right about him. Fear him. Fear him. Find us."

Just before he lost control on the timeline he shouted out desperately, "You have to find us Bruce!"

He let out a yell of pain as he saw his friend fade from sight. And then all he knew was darkness.

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 *** A very similar quote to what Hal Jordon told Barry in the comic _Blackest Night_. The actual quote said by Jordon was "I died sinner, you died a saint."**

 **Also I am about ninety percent sure this is what was said in the movie; the message. If it is not, please forgive me.**


End file.
